40. On the Concept of Hierarchy:Citizens possess only a professional outlook, not a hierarchical one.

The concept of hierarchy is by no means an innate human notion; rather, it is a deliberately fabricated ideology by autocratic rulers to facilitate their domination over the populace. Throughout history and across cultures, all despotic rulers have tirelessly promoted hierarchical thinking, for they understood that widespread acceptance of such a concept would render their rule effortless. Moreover, since autocratic rulers practice rule by man rather than rule by law, establishing social order through hierarchy proves the most effective method within such systems. Thus, every nation and every ethnic group in the world has been governed by hierarchical concepts at some point. This is the crucial reason why hierarchical thinking retains such widespread influence even today. China's Confucian philosophy epitomizes hierarchical ideology, making it entirely understandable that every Chinese person possesses some degree of hierarchical consciousness. Yet in democratic nations like Britain, the Prime Minister still performs a ceremonial bow before the monarch—a practice that defies comprehension. This illustrates how deeply hierarchical thinking poisons humanity.

Throughout history, rulers have designed two primary types of social hierarchies: those with mobility and those without. A hierarchy with mobility allows lower-class individuals to ascend to higher ranks, though the pinnacle remains forever unattainable. China's imperial system epitomized this approach. The uncrossable hierarchy, however, enforced rigid boundaries between classes, trapping people permanently within their assigned status. Those in lower tiers possessed no means of ascending. Crucially, once widely accepted, this system eroded any will to resist. Lower-caste groups psychologically internalized their subjugation and exploitation, resigning themselves to perpetual immutability. India's caste system stands as a classic example.

Authoritarian states rely on hierarchical beliefs to maintain social control, while democratic nations must dismantle such beliefs to protect democratic ideals. Hierarchical thinking and democratic thought are inherently incompatible. If a nation appears democratic yet hierarchical beliefs remain pervasive, it cannot be a genuine democracy—at best, it is a superficial, formal democracy.

In a genuine democratic society, all people are citizens, all citizens stand on equal footing, and no hierarchical distinctions exist among them. Citizens differ only by profession, not by social rank. Outside working hours, all are utterly equal—simply citizens.

A citizen may be a teacher, doctor, worker, business owner, public servant, government official, and so forth. Yet these are not identities but merely occupations. Every citizen possesses two social roles: a professional role and a civic role.

From the professional role perspective, occupation is merely each citizen's means of livelihood. Moreover, occupations are not fixed but freely switchable, meaning fundamentally everyone is equal. The principle of freely switching occupations means that in a democratic society, every citizen can, through their own efforts, enter any industry and assume any professional role. A citizen who was once a worker can now be a doctor and may become president in the future.

From the civic role perspective, every citizen is equal. no distinctions exist. No one feels superior, nor does anyone feel inferior. Even if you are the president and I clean toilets, I still perceive us as equals. No one aspires to be above others, for there is no one above me. No one seeks to rise above others, for there is no one below me.

In short, in the minds of citizens, there exists only the concept of occupation, not the concept of hierarchy.